ERIC GILLIS RUNNING BLOG

2012-01-26T22:45:00.001-05:00

There's lots of excitement and anticipation in the Guelph running community with fund-raising for a new 8 lane track furiously ramping up. With an impending dead line next Tuesday looming, the donate now call is out, visit the Guelph Victors Site if you can. Look what can happen if you do donate! Lost of news in local paper, Guelph Mercury here here here and here

LETS MAKE IT HAPPEN GUELPH

The Weather Network came for a visit Tuesday. Afternoon host Suzanne Leonard talked with DST about winter running, “ I don’t think there’s much of a difference between winter and other times of the year, personally,” says Scott-Thomas. “You just make it a regular part of your life and get out the door.” check video out here Watch for my running cameo. She also spoke with me, about training through the winter and other running related topics. Keep an eye out of that one on TWN in the next few days.

camera man Dywane, Me, WNT host Suzanne

This came in my Inbox recently, something I think a lot of you may be interested in, Dr Trent Stellingwerff (I work with on nutrition) in podcast talking about Recovery vs Adaptation

First of three, want to see others go to Canadian Sport Centre Pacific Youtube site learn and use my friends

As for my training, slowly getting fit again. My next race isn't until March 18, a half marathon in New York. Now however is the time to start thinking about racing again! This aways gets me fired up to train more, and train smarter. Can't complain about winter so far, it's been unseasonably warm here in Guelph, not much snow to speak of either.

2012-01-21T22:05:00.000-05:00

Trip to Ikea. Heidi's still a little too young to be left at play area, she still had fun shopping

30k (2:09) long run after day spent at Ikea = long day!

ps. new domain name, www.ericgillis.org

2011-12-30T19:49:00.000-05:00

Since Heidi started in a home daycare this fall I've having to get in my second run by 5pm every other week. I've often used our running stroller to go pick her up.Here we are...

SportsStats time to a decimal 2:11:27.3

2011-10-21T13:51:00.001-04:00

As I crossed the finish line the crowd countdown was down to two seconds, maybe 1. That actually didn't give me a whole lot of security I'd got under for standard, the finishing clock is often started by hand which can be a fraction slower then official timing equipment. As everyone started congratulating me, I decided to wait until someone could tell me definitively it was under, before celebrating. It was a good 10-15 minutes before I found out. Nicole Clark from Athletics Canada was standing close and said "SportsStats (official timer of the race) has you at 2:11:28", it didn't sink in until she passed me her phone with the time on it! Then I let out WHOO HOO :) One thing I have to clear up is that my time DOES NOT automatically get me on the team for London. What it does for now is, it meets Athletics Canada's Olympic qualifying standard that one must reach in order to have a shot at going. Every county has three spots per event they can enter athletes in, in Athletics. That's means Canada can send up to three marathoners so long as all have standard. Currently Reid and myself are the only two that have met this mark, others will trying for it in the coming months! They have until the Canadian Track&Field Championships in June of next year. So, if two other Canadians run faster then me before that, I would be bumped to 4th, and not go. Good news is that I too can run another marathon in that window if needed. Hopefully that clears up things for anyone who wasn't sure what exactly 2:11:28 did for me. All the being said Sundays race was a HUGE step forward in my hopes of representing Canada again!!!!!

I've really enjoyed reading all the message of support this week from everyone! Can't believe what a great job CBC did covering the race, both online and TV. Awesome that folks were able to watch from all over!! There's a couple options for people to watch if they missed it, CBC has posted a three hour segment online and now has the one hour TV recap up too, recommend this one if you don't have a lot of time.

Finally thanks Emily and Heidi for putting up with me the last few months, tired runners aren't always the funnest people to be around. Also thanks Dave being a kick ass coach, and thanks to the rest of our amazing Speed River support team! There's at least 10 folks I should name, I'll do it in person how about that :) Thanks guys!

NEWS STORIESGuelphMercury Marathoners’ display should make Guelph proud Speed River marathon runners under Olympic qualifying timeCBCCanada qualifies 2 marathoners for London OlympicsHometownWeekly, TheCasketSecond to spareWatson talking to the TorontoStarMarathoners don’t want to see writing on this wall

Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2011

2011-10-18T22:57:00.001-04:00

All right, lets get something posted here. Guess we'll randomly start with my thoughts going into the race. Despite not posting on here much, which I've tended to do in the past when things weren't going well, my confidence heading into STWM actually very high, blogging is tougher than workouts. The past 14 weeks have been the best stretch of training I've ever had, was feeling like I was in the shape of my life. Thought to myself, ok, on a good day you can attack, attack standard, and if feeling good off back end, even run a lot faster then it. Second thought was, if weather's not perfect I'm strong enough to attack 2:11:29 with confidence my fitness will allow me to hold on and get under. Third thought was, if weather is really bad, what the heck do I do? And it was this last scenario that I was facing a few days out with 40k/h+ winds projected. Luckily there was no panic, rather I listened to the people around me whom I most trusted. We didn't come out with anything complicated, simply keep an eye on the prize and get after it! Most difficult part by far was keeping mind off the wind! Great thing about racing in Canada is you get treated like a someone. Alan Brookes, meet director of STWM has been fantastic. The race brought in eight pacers total, pretty much each Canadian had an individual assigned to them. This came in very handy the first 13k, much of that into a stiff headwind. I was running in a pack with Dylan Wykes and Kip Kangogo, plus our 2 & a half rabbits, I say half because we had three total but one left early and another would take off up ahead for spells, only coming back after getting told he wasn't doing his job. Gotta say I was pleasantly surprised at how I felt whole first half, and much of the second. Goal was to split 65 at half and came through in 64:53, though did think it said 64:41 which had me thinking, "we're well under standard pace, this is great"! Not sure in the end if that helped or hurt me? The race for me was pretty uneventfull for about the first 3/4, a good uneventfull that is. I remember thinking before 30k that I wanted to get into the Beaches, "because thats were the race really starts". A brief moment of zen happened in that 5k stretch of rolling street, just after shedding my 'RunningWorks' (thats for you Catts;), Trent Stellingwerf yelled "gotta stay on it now", having not seen a split in a while I thought, maybe he knows something I don't, maybe I'm slowing down? Clicked my watch at 34k aiming to what I was running. 35k along, looked down, 3:01, though BOO YEAH, one of my fastest K's into the wind, RACE ON! Let the watch run to k 36, look down, 6:16.... just ran a 3:15 kilometre and no hill to blame it on. Remember thinking, well now the race is REALLY on, and it aint going to be pretty! Yep, the following 6.2k was tough, very very tough! Energy was there to fight but with that head wind it felt like a loosing battle every step shortening to a point going up the DVP overpass I felt like I could technically be race walking?!?! Seeing the 40k split gave me some life that I hadn't totally lost it the last few k. With some rudimentary math figured standard was still within reach but it might be close, bit of foreshadowing there eh. Can't say I really knew how close it was going to be until 300m to go when Trent was there again screaming "YOU HAVE TO GO NOWWWWW!!!!!! Checked my watch to confirm, yep, he was right, I REALLY GOTTA GO!! haha.. If you've seen the video of my final 100m I check my watch again, yes with less then 100m and the finishing clock in sight I look down at my wrist with no hope in hell of it helping me in the slightest. Though I've told people after it was because I wanted know if 2:11:29 had passed already so I could slow down and stop torturing myself ;) The crowd started a countdown with 10seconds to go, maybe after seeing the watch check? It was pretty cool, add more in next day or two...... till then.

2011-10-02T19:45:00.000-04:00

Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon Goes LIVE on CBCTORONTO, September 30th, 2011 — Scotiabank, Toronto Tourism and Canada Running Series are delighted to announce a partnership with CBC to provide live broadcast of this year's Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, taking place Sunday, October 16th.Broadcast Schedule:Live TV starts at 8:30 am ET, October 16th, on CBC's digital channel BOLD.Live web streaming will be available on www.cbcsports.ca until 2pm.Later the same day at 3.00pm local times, a highlights program will run on CBC [main channel, national network], including special features and stories on the Canadian professional athletes' pursuit of the Olympic qualifying standard.CBC's Scott Russell will host, with international distance racing expert and analyst Tim Hutchings joining the team to present a full day of racing broadcasts.

2011-09-30T13:18:00.000-04:00

Four tips from our fast & furious Olympic marathon hopefuls “When you go out jogging, warm-up and cool down, but that’s not a workout — whatever you do in the middle is the workout,”.... profound ps.. red beard gonzo

Found My Marathon Shoe

2011-09-21T20:06:00.001-04:00

Threw these new 1400's on for a workout the other day, felt AWESOME!

Inspiring

2011-09-21T07:54:00.002-04:00

2011-09-20T11:23:00.001-04:00

CBC Radio feature on the Speed River club this morning

I'm alive...

2011-09-09T13:57:00.002-04:00

No didn't have any near death experiences lately, just blogging for the first time in forever... though I did make effective use of an airplane seat belt last weekend coming back from Virginia Back Half. Hit a bout of turbulence so hard it knocked a flight attendant on her behind and left the contents of her cart in the laps of passages. Quick update on 63:34 half, content with it.
1 2 Benson Barus FINISH 01:02:22 --- 04:43 04:46
2 19 Samual Ndercba FINISH 01:03:01 +00:38.63 04:46 04:49
3 1 Ryan Hall FINISH 01:03:02 +00:39.26 04:47 04:49
4 3 Reid Coolsaet FINISH 01:03:16 +00:53.86 04:51 04:50
5 4 Eric Gillis FINISH 01:03:34 +01:11.59 04:57 04:51
6 24 Josphat Boit FINISH 01:04:32 +02:09.87 05:03 04:56

Yes I have beard, and I'm keeping it....until the novelty wares off.

I'm racing once more before STWM. 10k National road champs at the TO Zoo. Enjoy running this race, and good prize money too, so might as well.

70minutes of Tempo yesterday went well, especially for having some of that half still my legs. Next week we'll get after an ever longer one, the once in a build-up marathon simulation. Before Houston it was -9 and snow covered roads, and Toronto 30degrees+ and humid! Thinking next week we'll have best weather conditions yet for this workout.

Go Elaine!

2011-09-09T13:02:00.003-04:00

I wanted to take a chance to offer some encouragement and support to someone who has been on the sidelines of many of my races cheering me on! My sister in law
Elaine (Em's youngest sister) is going to be participating in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon Charity Challenge. She will be doing the 5 km walk/run taking place on October 16th, 2011. Elaine is a member of the The ABLE Network, a community based, non profit, organization that provides young adults with intellectual disabilities meaningful employment and recreational opportunities. All funds that she raises in the STWM Charity Challenge will directly to support this organization. So I am going to go find my wallet ( misplaced it again for the millionth time) and help Elaine reach her goal, I encourage others to do the same!

To donate: http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/en/charity/able.htm

To learn more about the ABLE Network: http://www.theablenetwork.ca/AboutUs.aspx

Eric Gillis Approaching Olympic “Trial” Cautiously, by Paul Gains | Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.... but not as cautiously as last year! ;)

2011-09-09T12:57:00.001-04:00

Eric Gillis Approaching Olympic “Trial” Cautiously, by Paul Gains | Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

BACK

2011-08-17T21:41:00.001-04:00

Google gave me access back after giving them .30cents from my visa, plus a ton of personal information!

Spring over, Down time over, Build-up to TO begins!

2011-06-07T23:47:00.000-04:00

Didn't post after Ottawa as I went directly into downtime ;) Occupied my time by eating lots of chocolate bars and Sun Sun. That lasted six fabulous days. Now back to limiting myself to one chocolate bar a day and no Sun Sun, unless I'm really craving!

Heading into Ottawa I had dropped out, or cut short, every workout the previous 10days, chest cold getting the better of me. Timing was poor to say the least. Had been keying on Ottawa for the entire Spring. In each previous race I had met, or surpassed my expectation giving me a lot of confidence. Felt excited and ready to lay it on the line in the nations capital. A week of feeling lousy eat up all that excitement, but lucky I didn't pick it in. I ended up feeling considerably better day before, and actually felt ok for race, go figure. Ended up finishing 4th overall and 1st Canadian, same as last year.

Heidi taking in the sights on the hill. Ottawa was her first overnight running trip, saw nothing of my race, haha

Now it's back into mileage, build-up to Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon here we come!

Finish

2011-05-03T20:45:00.000-04:00

I don't like my interviews but I talk about the race so up it goes. Game, see if you can count how many times I say "umm", try and cut that out next time.

Sad News

2011-05-02T20:44:00.000-04:00

Last night one of the finest guys in our sport passed away suddenly, Danny Kassap He was only my age, and what make it especally shocking to me is that Reid and I coolded down with him after Sporting Life 10k only yesterday, truly tragic, heavy heart today.

Above is start of Sporting Life 10k 2011. Danny is just off my right shoulder wearing purple.

Back to Racing

2011-04-04T11:17:00.003-04:00

My first race since last September is in the books. Secretly I was hoping it'd play out the way it did, little competition, hard effort, and walk away with a win. Training partner Cleve Thorson was second improving on this 8th the previous year, good one bud. Also from Speed River on the womens side, Courtney Laurie finished 4th, and Meredith Macgregor 9th in a strong womens field.

High Park, Toronto, 10:00am
8km Results

1 24:20.0 3:03 24:20.0 1 GILLIS, ERIC GUELPH 1/1095 1/191 Men 30 - 34
2 25:15.6 3:10 25:15.6 4 THORSON, CLEVE GUELPH 2/1095 2/191 Men 30 - 34
3 25:42.1 3:13 25:42.1 5 KASSAP, DANNY TORONTO 3/1095 1/166 Men 25 - 29
4 25:52.6 3:15 26:26.6 2637 LEDUC, MATT TORONTO 4/1095 2/166 Men 25 - 29
5 26:09.0 3:17 26:09.0 9 BEDLEY, CHARLES TORONTO 5/1095 1/174 Men 35 - 39
6 26:21.0 3:18 26:21.0 15 GEHL, TERRY ST. CHARLES 6/1095 1/139 Men 40 - 44
7 26:38.9 3:20 26:36.0 475 COOPER, JEREMY MANITOWANING 7/1095 1/22 Men 15 - 19
8 26:41.9 3:21 26:41.9 14 MINICHIELLO, RICHARD OTTAWA 8/1095 2/139 Men 40 - 44
9 26:43.1 3:21 26:43.1 2064 SWITZER, JAMIE PETERBOROUGH 9/1095 1/52 Men 20 - 24
10 26:59.6 3:23 27:07.8 12 KARANJA, FRED TORONTO 10/1095 3/166 Men 25 - 29

With that easy one under my belt it's on to a much tougher series of 10k races starting with Vancouver Sun Run April 17th. Last year I was second by only a few seconds, this year the field may be even stronger. Two weeks later it's back to Toronto for Sporting Life May 1, first time running it. Then head to Ottawa for Canada's most competitive 10k May 28. The goal there is to be in 10000m (sub 28min) and run a 10k road PB, see if that can get be on the podium and improve my 4th from last year.

Last Week

2011-03-28T11:10:00.000-04:00

Want to post something but don't want to write so copy and past it is, here's last weeks training

Monday 20x2'/1' 26.5 km Feeling good about last week, ready for a solid start to this one. 2'er just what I needed. Did first 15 with Milne and Scull, quick and in control. Felt strong towards end + 6 CP hills
Tuesday am / pm 28 km am 17k with Vollms, easy run... pm 11k trot
Wednesday off km sitter snow bound in Fergus..no run, wanted to run on treadmill
Thursday 3/24/2011 23 km 30' trot outside, knee not liking snow, 74' on TM
Friday tempo 45' of work 28 km 3 3x15' with middle being 5'+5x1'/1'+5'
3:09- 3:06&3:04 - 3:07
good workout on P, -5, solo during
Satuday am / pm 24 km am 16k easy + pm 8k to gym and back
Sunday long run 28 km 28k easy with Vollmer.... this week right knee giving me a little grief, easy runs and walking
157k Total

Looking Forward

2011-03-14T15:29:00.001-04:00

Been over 160k last few weeks. Things are progressing, had best workout in months last week (40' tempo ave 3:10k) but then also skipped one for various reasons. Expecting good one this week.

Been listening to a lot of RAA lately, check out latest vid, awkwardness makes it!

Wild Winter Keeps Up

2011-02-12T17:12:00.001-05:00

This winter is really testing us runners, snow, -15, ice, and wind, gusty stormy winds! Despite this, I had a good week of training. Hit my second straight week over 150k to go along with two solid workouts. The lack of fall running places me bit behind in workout but it'll come.

I've started planning out my spring racing schedule. Start with an 8k at Harry's Spring Run Off, in Toronto, then Sun Run 10k in Vancouver, and Sporting Life 10k back in Toronto.

Check out this months issue of Canadian Running Magazine, nice profile of Reid in there. ps, Emily jumped two feet when she saw a wedding photo of ours in there!

Lets Go!

2011-01-30T20:43:00.000-05:00

What have I been up to you ask, well lets start with running. After a miserable fall I'm back at it in 2011. My right hip, knee, and foot alignment issues are still there but I'm managing them way better now. Last few weeks I've been hitting 130k with a couple workouts. Feel as though I'm settling into a good rhythm. Now need to set a side a lot more time for stretching and untwisting exercises which is allowing me to get in my runs pain free for the most part.

Decide not to racing a marathon this spring. It was an easy decision in the end, body can't handle that strain right now. The plan is to race a few times on the roads this spring. Most of my emphasis will be on doing the little things that'll get me strong.

2010-11-29T10:44:00.000-05:00

Since Sept 26 I've only run more then an hour three times, knee/foot slow to come around, became sore mid June. Getting very good treatment, hope to be back training 100% by x-mas.

Another Solid 42.2k

2010-09-28T11:35:00.008-04:00

NEW footage of me in Toronto

Nice, that felt better then I expected! Finished the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2:12:08 for 11th place. I split half in 65:56, right on goal pace. 20-30k felt really good, next 5k was rolling through the Beaches, ran a few slow 3:12-15 k's (2:12=3:07/k). May have let off the gas a little too much because I had lots left the final few kilometers. Overall no regrets with my pacing, chose it before hand and went out there and executed just like in Houston. I'll enjoy this for a week or two and then set my sights on taking another good chunk of time off my PB

Dealt with some extra adversary in the build-up for this one, special thanks to Brenda Scott-Thomas, Doug Chase, Marcell Meresz, Kim Dawson, Fred Rayner , Dr Mountjoy, Laura Moulton, and Ron O'Hare who, together, played a HUGE part in getting me to the starting line healthy, confident, and free wheeling!

Around the 23k mark

Read all about Reid's gutsy run for Oly standard on his blog
"I kept looking at my watch and making calculations in my head to figure out what I needed to. That extra 200m over 42km makes these calculations a bitch during a marathon."
List to him on CBC Radio Ontario Today
Guelph Mercury - Speed River club runner Coolsaet qualifies for 2012 Olympics marathon

A bit of footage of the race

Entire broadcast of the race is archived at CANADA RUNNING SERIES TV + interviews

Four Days

2010-09-23T15:20:00.001-04:00

GuelphMercury.com - Sports - Speed River marathon men take aim at Olympics

Speed River marathon men take aim at Olympics http://news.guelphmercury.com/Sports/article/692566

"A cool morning Sunday would suit Reid Coolsaet and Eric Gillis of Guelph’s Speed River Track and Field Club just fine."

If you want to watch the race live on the Internet you can at STWM LIVE PAGE
Leaders to go out at 2:07 pace, fast!

Speed River Twitter will have updates as well.

Merc Article

2010-09-21T15:41:00.000-04:00

Gillis, Coolsaet patiently stalking marathon record

"All full-capacity running calls on more than physical strength and training. The marathon in particular rewards patience and intelligence. Gillis and Coolsaet have not only trained hard, they have trained smart. They run at the same time of day as the race, on the same surfaces and practice drinking at race pace. There is a high risk of injury with high-mileage running; these two have learned when to back it down and recover."

http://news.guelphmercury.com/Sports/article/690473

Six Days!

2010-09-20T20:19:00.000-04:00

The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

“Pick the Champions Contest”

brought to you by Canada Running Series

2010

Check out Reid's Blog for more details, pretty cool contest!

Update

2010-09-02T17:22:00.003-04:00

Hello Blog, it's been a while I know. The half did NOT go as planned so I didn't much feel like posting after. I was hampered by a blockage in my foot. Good to go after a couple treatments and the sting of the half is behind me now. My workouts have been going very well since.

Reid and I did our last big one yesterday, 90min straight at marathon pace, 38km with warm up and cool down. We were a few seconds off goal pace but with the temperature feeling like 32 when we finished that was definitely ok! Thanks to Cal and Lee for handing us our bottles, we certainly looked forward to them on a hot one like yesterday. I took in 1.75L total and still lost 1.6kg. It's an acceptable % body weight loss though, especially after that kind of effort. It's a good sign, one that means I have my fulling regime down pact, thanks for he plan Dr Stellingwerff!

Parkersburg Half Marathon this weekend

2010-08-17T21:22:00.000-04:00

Traveling to West Virgina this weekend to race a half marathon as part of our preparation for Toronto. Reid and I are both doing it. The course description is a hilly one which may prevent a quick time. But really you'd be hard pressed to find a place in Canada or the US you can expect to run fast at in the middle of August.

In the Glob last week - One marathoner’s strategy for going the distance

Runner'sWorld

2010-08-10T12:04:00.002-04:00

Chatted with Runner'sWorld yesterday.
http://racingnews.runnersworld.com/2010/08/a-brief-chat-with-eric-gillis.html

What were the components of the 40k workout?

EG: It was an hour easy run, 30-minute tempo at race pace, then 15 minutes easy, and a 30-minute progression starting out at race pace and just going faster, finishing at less than 3:00 per kilometer for the last two kilometers.

Having a bite to eat with my girl after the big workout.

workout vid

2010-08-08T11:08:00.000-04:00

Reid and I on July 17 doing hour run fallowed by an hour of tempo

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=417467235905

update

2010-08-04T16:07:00.000-04:00

10,000m Nationals last week did feel great. I had a nagging injury for most of June that caused my right side to become tight and sore, it just made everything a little tougher.

After a few treatments from Speed Rivers physiotherapist Brenda Scott-Thomas, and RMT Marcell Meresz I'm feeling MUCH better! Something unlocked and my range of motion has increased substantially. Not out of the woods yet but very confident we have it under control.

Today was a VO2 max session, 5xmile on the roads around Exhibition park for Reid and I. Started at 9am and humidex was already at 30 degrees. Workout went excellent, ave 4:25 per mile, finished strong!

GOOD NEWS!

2010-07-28T14:23:00.000-04:00

I recently found out I'm a recipient of the Canadian Athletes Now Fund (CAN Fund). "a not for profit organization devoted solely to raising funds and awareness for Canadian athletes."

It was a total surprise as application were due way back in February, I kind of forgot about it. The funds will really help in my prep for Toronto Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon this September, and beyond.

Thanks CAN Fund!

Back to the Track

2010-07-22T22:15:00.000-04:00

Spending a lot of time in front of the computer this week with World Junior T&F Champs being streamed live from Moncton on CBC. Speedriver has two athletes competing, Andrew Nixon who ran a strong 10,000m placing 13th in 30:35 and home town steeplechase star Gen Lalonde who placed 6th tonight in a new junior North American record 9:57, way to go GEN! Results

One week until 10,000m Nationals. Start lits are up, here's first 6 (of 8)..small field as usual

Event 14 Men 10000 Meter Run

UofT

Wednesday 28/07/2010 - 7:30 PM

Team

Queen City S

Running Room

Speed River

University O

Speed River

Seed Time

27:23.6

29:01.6

29:05.0

29:20.8

30:48.0

31:14.6

Name

Bairu, Simon

*kangogo, Kip

Gillis, Eric

Coolsaet, Reid

Kitz, Robert

Parrott, John

2010-06-29T14:33:00.000-04:00

Gillis focusing on marathons http://www.thecasket.ca/sports.asp?id=425

"Eric Gillis returned to his roots recently addressing students at the Saint Andrew Junior School awards evening.
Gillis began his running career as a Grade 8 student at SAJS. The coach was Terese Tracey."

Fall Marathon Date Chosen

2010-06-24T12:55:00.001-04:00

It's official, I'm running the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon September 26. Read more about it here
14 weeks this Sunday!

After the Ottawa 10k I took a little down time, six days off completely. It's been a steady buildup since, 120k, 150k, and ~180k this week. It was important for me to take that time off to psychically recover, reload, and mentally prepare for an intense three and half month stretch that'll see me cover 3000k in preparation for one race of 42.2k.

My next race will be 10000m at Canadian T&F Championships in Toronto Wednesday July 28, meet runs though until Saturday July 31.

2010-06-16T13:27:00.000-04:00

Flotrack Interview

http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/2006-eric-gillis

Ottawa Race Weekend

2010-05-31T13:07:00.005-04:00

My short spring road racing season culminated in Ottawa this past weekend with a 4th place finish in Canada's most competitive 10k. I was shooting for a top three finish but am pleased with the 4th. You never know who's going to show on race day and this year I didn't see a start list until the day before. One name on it immediately jumped out, Deriba Merga, last years winner who attempted to break the world 10k road record coming 24 seconds short. Seeing him in this race again assured the pace would be hot early on, and that it was. The gun fired, five guys flew to the front, a sixth zoomed past trying to catch the front pack. Noticing how he seemed to be in a full out sprint I decided to settle in and hope bodies would come back to me. I heard the leaders ran 2:35 for the first kilometer and were on world record pace for 3k (2:42/km pace). That told me I had made the right decision not to go with them. As I'd hoped the first body fell off the lead pack at 2k and then another shortly after. I used them as a target, helping to keeping my pace quick. There were no clocks on the course and I wasn't wearing a watch so didn't catch any splits. By 5k I'd caught and passed one guy and was closing on another. The second guy wasn't as easy to pass, tried rolling by at 6k but he hung on my tail. Now running into a head wind and not able to see 3rd place I decided to run tactical and make sure I had enough to beat this guy if it came down to a sprint. 7-9k we traded leads and I developed my plan, go hard 400m out! We were running neck and neck with 1k to go, had the feeling he was tiring but wanted to stick to my plan of going 400m from the finish. I stayed patient, started my move at 9.6k and quickly realized it wasn't going to be close, he was done. A big crowd lined the final stretch cheering enthusiastically. I really enjoyed the energy it created and tried to soaked a little up before crossing the line.

1	LELISA DESISA	West Chester	28:08.6	2:49
2	MOHAMED EL HACHIMI	Briarcliffe Manor	28:11.4	2:50
3	DERIBA MERGA	West Chester	28:41.7	2:53
4	ERIC GILLIS	Guelph	29:11.5	2:56
5	DEREJE TADESSE RAYA	Briarcliffe Manor	29:17.1	2:56
6	DYLAN WYKES	Kingston	29:37.3	2:58
7	MATT LOISELLE	Toronto	29:49.3	2:59
8	ROBERT KIPROTICH LETTING	NAIROBI	29:57.9	3:00

As usual the Ottawa Race weekend was an unbelievably well organized series of events. Amazing how well the whole weekend goes off. Thanks Ottawa :)

Eric Gillis, of Canada, is the first Canadian to cross the finish line with a time of 29:11.5 during the 10km race held during Ottawa Race Weekend in downtown Ottawa on May 29, 2010. Over 39,000 people are participating in Ottawa Race Weekend. Photograph by: Jana Chytilova, The Ottawa Citizen

Also this weekend was the first meet of the 401 Distance Series, held in Windsor, London, Guelph. Speed River had a number of good performances, check out results and Taylor Milne on facebook running 3:38.57 in the 1500m.

The last meet of the 401 Distance Series occurs in Guelph this Saturday, St James track at 7pm. Come on out an watch everyone!

Track and Field Articles - Malindi Elmore by on Flotrack

2010-05-19T13:34:00.001-04:00

Track and Field Articles - Malindi Elmore by on Flotrack

Posted using ShareThis

Sunday Reading

2010-05-16T18:45:00.001-04:00

Runners want to turn Guelph into a world-class training centre
http://news.guelphmercury.com/Sports/article/633102
“We would like this to be a place where people around the world know they can show up, find good trails, find people that understand the joy of movement and health, and we would like to think it’s pretty normal for people to look around Guelph and see people running along the river trails and just enjoying being healthy,” ............
“I would say our facilities are woeful,” Scott-Thomas said. “I wouldn’t put (Guelph) in the top 200 tracks in Canada." So true! lol

TnFNorth has a new home
http://www.tnfnorth.ca/ message board is under Community

Thumbs Down this week to the Blue Nose Marathon co-chairman Gerry Walsh for his comments when asked if elite marathoners will ever be welcome
It’s not on the radar screen and I don’t expect to ever see it happen. I really think that would damage the fabric of the event.
His first comment doesn't bother me that much, he can do whatever he wants with this event. The sencond one, where he states world class marathoners would "damage the fabric of the event" gets my ayre up! I'd like to hear more about what he's basing this on, other races experience, or just a personal hunch that was better kept to himself!

Thumbs up to Heidi for gaining another pound, 10.12lbs! :)

Vancouver Sun Run

2010-05-10T20:52:00.001-04:00

On Sunday I competed in the Sun Run, Canada's biggest road race with over 50,000 participants. I was aiming for the win but finished a few seconds back. It can down to a Kenyan, Kip Kangogo and myself in the last kilometer. He put on a strong move up the bridge, I covered and tried my own move coming down the other side but Kangogo had one more gear then I on this day. I wasn't happy finishing second but it should get me refocused, time to train harder and smarter.

1 0:29:02 Kip Kangogo Lethbridge
2 0:29:05 Eric Gillis Guelph
3 0:29:29 Willy Kimosop Lethbridge
4 0:29:33 Scott Simpson Victoria
5 0:29:41 Matt Loiselle Toronto
6 0:29:45 Dylan Wykes Kingston
7 0:29:54 Richard Mosley Burnaby
8 0:30:09 Derek Nakluski Kitchener
more photos

I recommend this race to anyone that is looking for a unique 10k road race. It's quite something to line up with that many folks. For some it takes an hour to get across the START line, check out the photo below to understand how this can be so, a lot of runners eh!

Check out this unrelated story in our local paper New rules could hit Speed River runners in the wallet

Three Workout Week

2010-04-19T22:40:00.000-04:00

For a lot of the year I do two workouts per week and a quicker long run. With track season gearing up the group has moved to three workouts a week, Mon, Wed, Fri, and so have I. Last week was the first of such weeks, here's how it looks.

Sun: easy day for the week 60' at 4:30-40/km pace + core work

Mon: am 6k with Arkell
pm workout on the trails, 5x2min/1min easy between - 2min esay into 2x8min/2' easy bt + another set of 5x2'/1'easy 36min total (8 min'er ave 3:04-07/km) 24k total

Tues: am 6k with Arkell (dog)
pm 20k in 90' + core work

Wed: 6am 6k with Arkell before supply teaching
pm track session 2x5'/2' tempo "to prime the pump" as DST would say, then 6x1k/2' bt +4x200m/30sec bt and 4min bt k's and 200's. Solid workout, k's went 2:43,44,44,45,43,44 and 200's 29,30,29,28!..21k total

Thur: am easy 13k in 60'
pm tired 13k in 62' + core and weights at gym

Fri: am 6k with Arkell
Physio with Brenda Scott-Thomas in the afternoon, just some matinace work.
pm back to the trails, 10x3min/1min bt. I was tired heading into this one, didn't get much sleep at work the night before. Workout went well, ran with Alex Genest and Taylor Milne.

Sat: easy 30k in 2h 12min ..felt ok for three tough workouts this week

Ran 184km last week, should crack 200 this week.

Run In The Park

2010-04-05T12:45:00.002-04:00

I was pleased with my efffort and how I felt this past weekend at Harry's Spring Run Off in High Park, Toronto. We had great weather for racing, I had a good group of competitiors to work with and the organizers of the race put on an excellent event. In my first competition since the marathon I feel I have recovered well and am on my way to getting fit for some upcoming 10k road races I have planned this spring, the Vancourver Sun Run on May 9th and the the Ottawa 10k on May 29th.

Here's a link to an artile on the race: Gillis, Njeri claim top prizes at Harry's Spring Run-Off

1 23:58.9 3 GILLIS, ERIC GUELPH
2 24:02.8 2 ONGERI, JOSEPHAT BURLINGTON
3 24:18.9 4 LOISELLE, MATT TORONTO
4 24:28.5 13 NAKLUSKI, DEREK KITCHENER
5 24:37.7 1 MILNE, TAYLOR GUELPH
6 24:50.0 12 KARANJA, DAVID HAMILTON
7 24:51.4 10 DEHBI, AMOR MONTREAL
8 25:14.0 7 THORSON, CLEVE GUELPH
Full resutls

Racing again

2010-03-31T09:48:00.003-04:00

Except for a few days off with achilles troubles mid month, training has been going well. Logged 180k, two solid workouts, and a 2h long run last week. With a race planed for Saturday I'll dip in mileage a bit this week, though workout volume will still be high. We did 4x10min tempo on Monday and 8x1k on the track is planned for later today.

The road race I'm doing this weekend, 8k Harry's Spring Run Off, is going to be streamed live at www.crstv.ca with Mihira Lakshman & Dave Reid doing the commentary, start time 10am EST. There's a few of us from Speed River racing and getting interview at 9am before warm-up, check it out!

Elite Start List
==============================================
MEN
1 Milne Taylor Guelph
2 Ongeri Josephat Burlington
3 Gillis Eric Guelph
4 Loiselle Matt Toronto
5 Rachem Baghdad Montreal
~~6 Watson Rob Guelph~~
7 Thorson Cleve Guelph
8 Oukid Fethi Montreal
9 Recioui Tewfik Verdun
10 Dehbi Amor Montreal
11 Genest Alex Guelph
12 Karanja David Hamilton
13 Nakluski Derek Kitchener

Speed River's newest member

2010-03-18T17:12:00.001-04:00

Here are a few pictures of Speed River's newest addition. Heidi Grace Gillis, born March 4, 2010 weighing 5lbs 15oz. She is a healthy and happy baby and has already been outfitted with her first pair of running shoes courtesy of New Balance and Dave Korell.

We share the same philosophy about daytime naps. :-)

Back To The Miles

2010-02-22T14:16:00.000-05:00

It's been five weeks since the 'Thon', and my last post, wow how time fly's. Here's a quick summary post Houston. The first few days I was achy all over. I took advantage of any and all handrails going up and down stairs. That cleared up quick and by Thursday I was feeling back to normal. I started back running after a two week break. The time off was nice but I kind of let go of getting good rest at the same time. Between working lots, staying up late, eating poorly, and my body trying to recover from it's first marathon I got run down. A week after getting back into running I caught a virus that that kept me up at night coughing. This has plateaued my mileage 80-90k the past few weeks. The last couple nights I've slept well so I should be able to crack 160k this week and get in a couple decent workouts, though they'll be far from quick.

Arkell is our 2yr old Austrian Sheppard that I do many of my morning runs with. She's good for about 10k on a cool day and a lot less in the summer. We log 30-40k a week together on the trails close to home. It wasn't my plan when we first got Arkell to have a K9 training partner but as time went on she's become that.

26.2 Miles

2010-01-18T12:18:00.005-05:00

Sunday Jan 17, marathon day, order of event in chronological order.

1:30am - roommate/coach arrives at hotel. Dave spent Fri and Sat with his university squad at a track meet in Windsor then jumped on a flight fr Detroit to Houston!
3:50 - alarm goes off, it's just over 3h to race time.. finally Race Day!
4am - breakie; PowerBar, banana, and PowerBar Endurance drink ... watch couple episodes of Colbert on laptop while roomie caught a few more z's, taking him over 3h mark before a big day of biking all around Houston to watch my race, don't know how you did it Dave, but glad you could!
4:50 - shower, dress, pack...
5:30 - catch a shuttle fr hotel to convention center, near the start. Elites had a room to hang out in, also the meeting location fr where we were to be escorted to the start area (useful with 30,000 other racers milling about)
6am - 1h to start. consume another half PowerBar, 10min later caffeine time
6:25 - leave for start area
6:33 - begin my warm-up which consisted of eight minutes easy running
6:55 - on the line, ready to go.... Last race, Boxing Day 10 miler in Hamilton, I tide one of my shoes too tight and had a miserable time with it. So you can bet I took extra care to make sure laces were just right before this one!
7am - cannon sounds and we're off. Lead pack, with rabbits at 2:08 pace, pull away almost immediately. Andrew Smith (fellow Canadian) and I join up early, running in pack of two for first eight miles. I entered the race with a cautionary tale not to go out too fast! That I didn't, 1 mile split 5:10, 5 mile split 25:37 (~2:14:25). If I were to attempt to describe how those first few miles felt, would say it was similar to the start of a long progression tempo. The pace isn't quick, brain's in the futile process of trying to figuring out if the body wants to have a good one, and you can't wait to be in meat of the workout, the only true way of figuring out if the body is on your side to run fast. I missed a bottle at 8 miles, wasn't pleased but figured I'd channel that energy into shaving down my miles spits. Started running constant 5:06 miles (=2:14) and reached half in 67:11. Dave was standing near and asked him if I could pick it up even more knowing I'd need to if I wanted to break 2:14. He responded, "be patient", so I continued a solid sting of 5:06 miles. At 16 miles I thought it's now or never to make up that 11 sec if I want to have any shot at breaking 2:14. Ran the next 6 miles at 5:05 pace feeling very good. At 22 miles I started thinking more like a 10000m runner, believing I could push the pace and gain some time over the last few mile without fear of slowing or bonking. Ran that 22nd mile in 5 flat and approached my last bottle feeling awesome. Decided, oh I don't need much to drink, so only took a small sip of my final bottle at mile 23. The next 2 miles had slight climbs that finally put a little sting in my legs as I continued trying to push the pace. A little part of me regretted not taking in more of my last bottle but a splash of Gatorade at the last general water station (24.5 miles) calmed my nerves and kept me pushing. Knew I had a good shot at breaking 2:14 with a mile to go and pretty confident I could make it my fastest mile or at least close to. Crossed the line in 2:13:52, very pleased!
The biggest thing I'll take from this race is the confidence of having my execution back, both in training and racing. It's something that seemed to alluded me since 2008. From 9 miles on I ran solo, someone asked me after the race, "had there been more guys around you running a faster pace think you could have run an even better time"? Told him no, I would not have gone with them. Dave and I had a plan that we believed would work best for me short and long term. I'm already feeling the positive effects of accomplishing the short term goal, now its on to the rest.

Email Splits and Live Streeming from Houston

2010-01-15T16:00:00.000-05:00

Watch live streeming and get email updates at http://www.chevronhoutonmarathon.com/

My Bib # is 14M

Arrived in Houston Thursday, weather's been wet and windy but supposed to clear up for Sunday.
Ready to go!

Guelph Mercury Story

2010-01-06T09:46:00.000-05:00

Distance runners find strength in numbers

Hamilton Boxing Day 10 Miler

2009-12-27T16:01:00.003-05:00

My last race before Houston was a 10 miler on Boxing Day in the Hammer, photos. We received a lot of ran the night before so I was preparing for a cold and wet one, luckily it cleared up for us just in time. The race course winded through some very nice parts of town, first half had waterfront, then into a marina, and was mostly flat. The second half was just as scenic but a fair bit more challenging with a few good climbs that took us to the foot of a Ski Park, that was a steep one!

As for my race, I was pleased with it. I won by almost two minutes running solo from the gun. Pace felt comfortable throughout, expect for ski hill climb..lol... With two miles (40:59) and A LOT of downhill left, I decided to chase sub 50 minutes. I needed to run back to back 4:29 miles, fast, but I was encourage by Chris Moulton's comments, "it's all downhill from here Gilly!". I ended up finishing just short in 50:09 (last mile did have a little up hill Moults..lol..), still good enough for a new course record.

Thanks to the Hamilton Harries for putting on this fun, well organized race!

Check out the best xmas brunch/pre race day power up meal ever! thx Em

Big Mileage, Long Workouts

2009-12-15T20:41:00.002-05:00

Last couple weeks I've hit my 1st and 2nd highest mileage weeks ever, 210k and 223k. I also hit a biggie in a workout on Saturday, covered the full distance. 90min of that was work the rest warm-up and cool-down. Legs are still under me this week which is a good sign after all those new highs. Workouts in general have been going really well, especially the long ones. Weather's been great up until the last week or so when we got hit with snow and a lot of wind! I was fortunate to get a nice one on Saturday for the workout.

I'll be racing once more before Houston, Boxing Day 10miler in Hamilton.

National X-C Guelph

2009-11-30T14:53:00.003-05:00

On Saturday Nov 28 Speed River hosted the Canadian Cross Country Champions, the third straight year we had the honor of putting on the meet. Coach DST and the gang did a fantastic job once again, and even managed to ward off the snow (finally) which gave everyone the chance to rip-it on a great course.

My prep for the marathon has be coming along very well. Since the Zoo Run in mid October I've upped the mileage significantly cracking 200k for three straight weeks before bringing it down to 187k two weeks out, and 153k last week. The drop did help me feel fresh heading into race weekend, enough to lead the first lap anyhow, wasn't my original plan heading in. Once up there I tried to relax and keep a solid pace, did that except for the third lap (of four) which was a bit slow. I was trying to save a bit for the last one to make sure I had something in reserve if 'The Champ' caught up and tried a finish like he unleashed at CIS in Kingston... nice run Matty:)

In the end, running nationals for me was about having some fun in the middle of a big buildup for Houston, mission accomplished! Great job Speed River athletes!

GO RIVER!

Flotrack Interviews & Video of the race's

Full Results at Guelphrunning.ca

Saturday November 28, 2009

Senior Men

----- ------- ----- ---- ------------------------------------- -------------------- --------------
Pace
Place Time km # Name Club Year of Birth
----- ------- ----- ---- ------------------------------------- -------------------- --------------
1 28:49.8 2:53 577 BAIRU, SIMON QUEEN CITY STRIDERS 83
2 30:00.5 3:01 646 GILLIS, ERIC SPEED RIVER TRACK & 80
3 30:11.4 3:02 642 BRUNSTING, MATTHEW SPEED RIVER TRACK & 87
4 30:28.0 3:03 730 WIEBE, KELLY U OF R COUGARS 89
5 30:32.5 3:04 622 GENEST, ALEX SHERBROOKE 86
6 30:37.5 3:04 560 WYKES, DYLAN PHYSI-KULT KINGSTON 83
7 30:38.4 3:04 601 SCULL, JEFF RUNNERS EDGE TRACK C 85
8 30:45.0 3:05 653 MILNE, TAYLOR SPEED RIVER TRACK & 81
9 30:46.1 3:05 565 MOSLEY, RICHARD PRAIRIE INN HARRIERS 82
10 30:55.0 3:06 568 WHITFIELD, SIMON PRAIRIE INN HARRIERS 75

Saturday November 28, 2009 9:45 AM

Senior Men

1. SPEED RIVER TRACK & FIELD CLUB
2 3 8 26 (31) (35) (41) = 39
GILLIS ERIC, BRUNSTING MATTHEW, MILNE TAYLOR, THORSON CLEVE,
SNIDER DEREK, KOZIARSKI STEPHEN, PAQUETTE MAXIME
2. PRAIRIE INN HARRIERS RACING TEAM
9 10 17 18 (28) (29) (36) = 54
MOSLEY RICHARD, WHITFIELD SIMON, FINLAYSON JAMES G., OSADUIK
STEVEN J., GANT DYLAN, JONES KYLE, SWANSON KRIS

Torch Run

2009-11-21T19:23:00.003-05:00

I was back in Antigonish earlier this week partaking in the 2010 Olympic Torch relay, had the special honor of being the last torch barer! I ran 400m on St.FX campus and got to light the cauldron in front of a huge crowd! The part I enjoyed most was the last 50m when the security guys peeled off and suddenly there were hundreds of cheering people an arms lengths away on either side me.

Big News - 10k Champs - Marathon

2009-10-20T20:05:00.006-04:00

Hey folks, Em and I are going to have a BABY!! It's been quite an eye opening experience so far and we're only five months in. We're a very excited and happy couple!

Got a race in this past weekend. It was the Canadian 10k Champs that took place in and around the Toronto Zoo, Ried wrote up a good summary of the event on his blog. I was pleased with my 3rd place. It was hard fought and considering I would have been about ten places further back three weeks ago it a sign my fitness is coming around.

Picked a marathon, Houston TX January 17th. Getting the mileage up and should start marathon specific work early next week. Aiming for 190k this week!

5000m in Brasschaat

2009-07-26T18:33:00.003-04:00

13:40.21 for 10th, winner was 13:34. Not happy but nor am I unhappy with my race. Effort was there, fast time was not. Closed ok, 1:33 last 600m and only a couple seconds off leaders at that point. With that many guys in contention late race should have gone much faster, pacers weren't fast enough, supposedly they were to hit 1500 in 3:58, 63 high (seconds) per lap, don't think it ever got below 65 the first 4k.

Watch race here
http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235262/195677

5000 meter AC Heren Men A
Reeks:1
1 1147 TASAMA FAISA Dame* RFCL 13'34.97 Sen 87
2 9626 Sato Yuki JAP 13'35.32 Sen 86
3 9502 Bauhs Scotty USA 13'35.39 Sen 86
4 9567 Kennealy Mark IRL 13'36.71 Sen 00
5 9653 Vaugh Brent USA 13'37.16 Sen 84
6 9637 Slimani Kaddour ITA 13'37.30 Sen 79
7 9571 Kibet Moses UGA 13'37.84 Sen 91
8 9514 Butter Michel NED 13'38.09 Sen 85
9 9600 Nakao Yusei JAP 13'38.93 Sen 84
10 9542 Gillis Eric CAN 13'40.21 Sen 80
11 9612 Pierce Jon USA 13'41.00 Sen 83
12 9572 Kitamura Satoru JAP 13'41.44 Sen 86
13 9517 Christie Mark IRL 13'42.28 Sen 85
14 9555 Ishikawa Suehori JAP 13'44.69 Sen 00
15 9606 Okamoto Naomi JAP 13'49.60 Sen 00

5000m & 1500m

2009-07-21T18:26:00.004-04:00

Raced a 5000m on Sunday that didn't go so well, 13:51 in Heusden Belgium. Missed opportunity as the pace was good to run around my PB of 13:36. Wheels came off last lap as I tried to run a 62 and blew up running 72. Had two great track workouts that week, may have still been in my legs come race time. I definitely fretted too much about the windy weather, and not getting into the B section was in there too, simply boils down to being off my game.

As much as I was off my game Sunday I was on it today. Ran a half second PB in the 1500m, 3:44.3. More then the time I'm happy about the way I did it, winning the B section, feeling good, keeping positive, and all after lining up for the A section only not to not hear my name called though it was in there 2h earlier.

1500 meter
Reeks:2
1 9168 GILLIS Eric CAN 3'44.37 SEN 00
2 9064 JOSEPH Moise HAI 3'45.96 SEN 00
3 9131 BEUGNET Gregory FRA 3'46.87 SEN 00
4 2418 LUYCKX TIM OEH 3'48.32 Sen 86
5 9130 VEILLEROY Thomas FRA 3'48.34 SEN 00
6 9126 VIRTANEN Tapani FIN 3'48.71 SEN 00
7 9183 VEY Azzedine FRA 3'49.30 SEN 00
8 9027 BERGEM Einar Gauslaa NOR 3'53.53 SEN 00

Watch it here
http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235261/195018

One more race over here in Belgium, a 5000m this weekend in Brasschaat. Field looks solid, looking forward to it. Till then

2009-07-11T07:23:00.002-04:00

Spain race didn't quite go as planned, no one to run fast with, and I felt terrable. I was second in 14:05 winner was 14:01, lead a lot, boo! Need to get some sleep this week so hopefully Heusden on the 18th (5000m) will go better.

5000m July 10

2009-07-08T16:39:00.001-04:00

Racing in Spain July 10, here is the meet website, no English though

July 10, Trofeo Atletismo Ayuntamiento de Barakaldo, Bakardlo, SPN
http://www.rfea.es/web/competiciones/campeonato.asp?codigo=2009BI054

On to Europe

2009-07-05T16:16:00.003-04:00

It was great being back in my home province where I always get lots of support. Wednesday I competed in Halifax at the Aileen Meagher Track Classic finishing first in 7:56 for 3000m. Have to thank Kevin Heisler the meet director for putting on a 3000m last minute and getting in a pacer too! My time was a personal best by a second but more important it felt good!

Off to Europe in a few hours, there I hope to get my 5000m PB down. Once again the Speed River gang will be based in Belgium, this time in Ghent though. It's supposed to be a very nice looking city and while we're there a huge cultural festival will be going on.

Aileen Meagher

2009-06-29T20:38:00.002-04:00

Racing a 3000m at SMU in Halifax on Canada Day, 8:10 pm.

www.aileenmeagher.ca

5000m Nats

2009-06-26T13:00:00.002-04:00

Last night I competed in 5000m at Canadian Nationals at UofT placing second. Silvers' respectable especially to a great athlete like Simon Bariu. First mile felt ok, middle good, last mile was tough, a lot tougher then I was expecting based on my experince spliting 8:10 at 3k numerus times in the past. Running like ass at nationals is nothing new for me, good news is that I've always race well afterwards. 3k at the Aileen Meagher on Canada Day!

Event 12  Men 5000 Meter Run
=======================================================================     
   Canadian: % 13:13.96  1998        Jeff Schiebler                        
Championship: ! 13:25.16  2000        Sean Kaley                            
   Name                    Year Team                    Finals  Points     
=======================================================================     
Finals                                                                      
 1 Bairu, Simon                 Queen City Striders   13:39.23   10        
 2 Gillis, Eric                 Speed River           13:49.45    8        
 3 Steeds, Mark                 Brantford T.F.C.      14:08.54    6        
 4 Ahmed, Mohammed              Niagara Olym          14:11.84    5        
 5 O'Neill, Kyle                London Runne          14:29.77    4        
 6 Kitz, Robert                 University O          14:39.60    3        
 7 Kerr, Geoff                  U OF C Athle          14:42.81    2        
 8 Hubers, Ben                  Indiana University    14:53.50    1        
 9 Morrison, Spencer            University O          14:54.55             
10 Snider, Derek                Speed River           15:04.75             
11 Thorson, Cleve               Speed River           15:13.79

Festival of Eexcellence

2009-06-15T13:15:00.002-04:00

The 5000m in Toronto last Thursday went ok, finished 5th in 13:45. Had a nice pack to run behind the whole way. For some reason no one run partially quick, little bit wet and breezy. It was my first 5k of the season, and I'm confident the time will come down.

Have to thanks the organizers for bring in good competition and hosting a fantastic meet!

Men 5000 Meter Run
================================================================
WORLD RECORD: R 12:34.35  5/31/2004   Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopia               
WORLD LEADER: L 12:59.56  6/1/2009    Ali Abdosh, Ethiopia                    
   Name                    Year Team                    Finals
================================================================
 1    43 Shaheen, Saif          QATAR                 13:22.70 
 2    47 Ritzenhein, Dathan     USA                   13:34.00 
 3    45 Lagat, Haron           KENYA                 13:38.80 
 4    41 Quigley, Sean          USA                   13:43.84 
 5    40 Gillis, Eric           CANADA                13:45.10 
 6    46 Rutto, Hosea Kibet     KENYA                 13:47.84 
 7    44 Kibet, Charles Che     KENYA                 14:08.46 
 8    42 McDougal, Josh         USA                   14:29.09

Next race is Nationals June 25th back in Toronto, same track, same distance.

Guelph 1500

2009-06-05T10:05:00.003-04:00

No fast times last Sunday at the local twilight here in Guelph, winds were very strong. Finished 3rd in 3:47 with a couple of my quick training partners ahead of me in 3:45. Happy with the effort and a good set up race for Toronto 5000 in just over a week. Website for that meet is FestivalofExcellence.ca should be a good one.

Gettin into it

2009-05-26T09:00:00.002-04:00

Ah the Windsor race didn't go so hot but I'm not worried, head wasn't into it for that one but will be next time. I'll post after my next good race :)

Back in Guelph

2009-05-13T13:36:00.004-04:00

Now that my one 2009 10000m attempt has come and gone it's time to race some shorter distances. I've choose to focus on the 5000m for the remainder of this year, with a plan to race a few 3k's and 1500's as well. I have a strong base under me from many miles this past winter and with very little racing to date I feel fresh and excited for upcoming outdoor season.

Since back in Guelph I've jumped into a couple workouts with the speedy 1500m guys. With coming down form the longer 10000m work these two sessions were a shock to the system. That said, they both went better then expected and well most certainly benefit me this weekend in Windsor where I'm racing a 1500m. One of those workouts is now posted at Guelphrunning.ca

I don't know where my first 5000m will be at his point, should in the next week or so. Aim for now is to get comfortable with more quality on the track and have fun for what should be my last outdoor track season.

Hot Spot

2009-05-06T09:05:00.002-04:00

Attempted a 10000m on the weekend. Race went out fast, I split 13:53 5k. Dropped off that pace but felt I could still run 14-14:10 for a PB but a HOT sport on the bottom of my foot forced me to drop out around 6k. Foot is fine now and so am I.

A WEEK IN FLAG

2009-04-07T00:12:00.004-04:00

Yes I know it's been forever since I've posted, sorry Joan ;) The past seven weeks I been getting in solid 100mile+ weeks and running kick ass workouts with my very fit training partners Rob Watson, Taylor Milne, among others.

Last Sunday I left for Flagstaff, Arizona for a four and half week training stint at 7000ft. The thin air was good to me last year so I'm back putting in the last bit of prep for Payton Jordon 10000m. I'm staying in a great big house with a bunch of other Canadian that include Grant Handrigan, Richard Mosley, John Corbit, Dylan Wykes, and Colin Fewer (L-R photo). The place has a pool & ping pong table, 'Golden Tee' arcade game, and multiple flat screens, enough to keep us well entertained when not running.

The above photo was taken by Dave (coach) of us in Buffalo Park doing a 1mile-2mile-1mi-2mi-1mi workout. You wouldn't know it from the picture that we were battling 50k+ winds, felt like we weren't getting anywhere at times. Despite the conditions everyone seemed pleased with their efforts, as was I only being a few seconds back of last years, less windy, splits.

In Auburn!

2009-02-10T20:20:00.005-05:00

Ah it sure does feel nice to run in shorts and tees again! We arrived in sunny Alabama over a week ago after a long drive. The trip down saw us get held up at the border, slowed in snowy traffic, and make one wrong turn that had us driving the back roads of Pennsylvania for hours, made it in one piece thought.

We did a track workout yesterday at Auburn's University's nice new outdoor facility. The session was 6x1600m, I split 4:25-24-23-24-22-20. Taylor, Rob, and I worked together trading off 800m leads which split up the work nicely. I'm pleased with how consistent the effort felt, second half especially as they seemed to get easier. We're all putting in a lot of mileage down here which can make the legs feel sluggish early on in a workout.

Our plan is to stay for another 10 days and then head back to Guelph. I'll see about getting some photos of our stay up soon.

Heading South

2009-01-29T15:11:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow a group of us set off for Auburn, Alabama to escape winter for a few weeks. The trip comes at a good time as just yesterday the snow contributed to a new first, ran 70mins around a 187m indoor track, roughly 85 laps, yikes! As mind numbing as that sounds it actually went by fast, being able to see the snow coming down outside helped.

I've been running in the New Balance 1063 for about a week now and they've really grown on me. I get a responsive feel from them, meaning they give me feedback from the surface I'm running on. It's important to feel the ground beneath me and know my foot it striking the ground properly.

Talk to you again when I'm far far away from snow and ice!

New Shoes

2009-01-19T11:38:00.004-05:00

What's new... Well I've switched to wearing New Balance shoes and apparel. The company started a partnership with our club last year, providing funds and gear. I placed an order for 903 and 1063 shoes. The 1063 are a switch from stability to neutral for me, I'll let you know how they feel.

It's been cold and snowy the past few weeks here in Guelph. A few of us are heading to Alabama at months end to get in a couple weeks of warm weather training. We'll be staying in Auburn, which as far as I know hasn't seen snow in forever, can't wait! I'm not expecting to race much this winter. Training is keeping me busy and progressing nicely.

Chiba Ekiden - AGSI XC Champs

2008-12-02T10:22:00.008-05:00

Couple updates on races,

1) The Ekiden in Chiba, Japan was fun. I ran one of the 10k legs, my time was 29:29 which was good for 5th in my leg out of 13 teams. The first seven k was flat with the last two quite hilly. Hilary Stellingwerth handed me the sash in 9th, I passed one team, the US. We ended up finishing 9th, getting re-passed by them in the 6th and final leg. Finish time CAN 2:11:56, USA 2:11:54. Full recap here (click on my name for 5 sec of me running in no mans land, I was solo the whole way). It was cool though, because there was a lot of spectators on the course, they where shouting my name too! I think they know it from watching coverage of the race on their cell phones which are like little TV's.

Though the trip was brief we enjoyed this novel event very much. The mixed gender aspect was great to be a part of. I've often traveled to meets with women's teams competing for the same school or country but never as true teammates like this. Our goal was to finish a few spots higher and next year I believe that's possible. Full results here

2) Chiba was on Monday then I flew home Tuesday, and rested up for the AGSI XC Champs we were hosting on Saturday. I adjusted as well as one can expect for switching 24 time zones in five days. The race went out fast and continued at a quick pace for the first 2.5k lap. There were four of us up front at this point. Just before 3k Simon put in a surge that I covered and we ran together for the next 1k. The move stung me and in hindsight my fitness wasn't great enough to double back in that short of time and go for it like he was doing. No regrets though, I'd rather go for it and fall back than not know how long I could of held on for. Congrats to all that competed last weekend and especially the Speed River guys, nice run team!

AGSI Senior Men's Canadian National Cross Country Championship
10.0 KM Race
University of Guelph Arboretum Nov 29th, 2008 2:15pm. Weather: 0' and snow covered

Place Name Club Yr. Time Pace
===== =========================== ========================= ===== ======= =====
1 BAIRU, SIMON QUEEN CITY STRIDERS 1983 30:49.9 3:05
2 Watson, Robyn Speed River 30:49.9 3:05
3 WYKES, DYLAN PHYSI-KULT KINGSTON 1983 31:17.6 3:08
4 GILLIS, ERIC SPEED RIVER 1980 31:27.0 3:09
5 MILNE, TAYLOR SPEED RIVER 1981 31:40.6 3:11
6 THORSON, CLEVE SPEED RIVER 1981 31:49.0 3:11
7 BOURGEOIS, JOËL UNATTACHED-NEW BRUNSWICK 31:53.3 3:12
8 NAKLUSKI, DEREK TORONTO OLYMPIC CLUB 32:04.1 3:13
9 OSADUIK, STEVEN J. PRAIRIE INN HARRIERS RACI 32:09.3 3:13
10 GENEST, ALEX PHENIX 1986 32:12.6 3:14

Wind, Rain and Hills

2008-11-16T12:21:00.006-05:00

Wind, rain and hills- that pretty much sums up this years CIS Cross Country Chapionships! Last weekend was the CIS cross country championships in Laval, Quebec. Emily and I went to cheer on our alma matter StFX and the reining champs, the Guelph Gryphons. Success shone on both squads with Guelph retaining both titles. The Gryphon men dominated finishing 1,2,4,6,15, totaling a scant 28 points. The X-Men shocked most, grabbing a histioric silver! This year was only the second AUS title for the X-Men which makes their second place finish at CIS that much more impressive, great job lads! The X- Women, last years CIS bronze medalists, are in rebuilding years but had several positive individual results including Second Team All Canadian, Gina Stewert's 13th place finish.

Thursday I leave for Japan to participate in the Chiba, Ekiden Relays. Countries entries are up on the website http://homepage2.nifty.com/chibariku/index.html I believe our team will be strong. Everyone has been racing well this fall and so long as we can handle the jet leg we have a shot at beating a lot of good teams.

10k on the roads

2008-11-02T17:41:00.006-05:00

It's been a couple weeks since I raced in Ottawa at the 10k road champs, too late for an update? .. I finished 3rd in 29:28, a good effort for this time of year. Simon and Derek ran strong races pulling away from me before halfway. I tried closing the gap on Derek at 7k seeing that he fell off the shoulder of Simon. I moved well on him but he kept up the pace and finished strong. We had six from the club race, T.Milne 7th, S.Koziarski 8th,T.Konoval 14th PB 31:12, M.Paquette 23rd PB 32:13, and J.Corbit 26th

1	SIMON BAIRU	REGINA	SK	29:13.3	2:56	Men 25 - 29	1/16	1/120
2	DEREK NAKLUSKI	KITCHENER	ON	29:22.9	2:57	Men 25 - 29	2/16	2/120
3	ERIC GILLIS	GUELPH	ON	29:28.8	2:57	Men 25 - 29	3/16	3/120
4	RICHARD MOSLEY	COQUITLAM	BC	29:32.3	2:58	Men 25 - 29	4/16	4/120
5	GIITAH MACHARIA	OAKVILLE	ON	30:04.1	3:01	Men 25 - 29	5/16	5/120
6	MATT LOISELLE	TORONTO	ON	30:07.4	3:01	Men 20 - 24	1/14	6/120
7	TAYLOR MILNE	GUELPH	ON	30:23.2	3:03	Men 25 - 29	6/16	7/120
8	STEVE KOZIARSKI	MILTON	ON	30:29.8	3:03	Men 20 - 24	2/14	8/120
9	MATTHEW MCINNES	OTTAWA	ON	30:36.0	3:04	Men 30 - 34	1/13	9/120

Next up for me in an Ekiden relay race in Chiba, Japan, Nov 24. An Ekiden relay is marathon distance broken into six legs. This year the race is again mixed gender, three men - three women, alternating legs. The men's legs are 5k,10k,10k, women's 5k,5k and 7.2k. I'm on Team Canada and we'll compete against ~15 other countries.

Up and Running

2008-09-29T11:41:00.004-04:00

Six weeks from Beijing, four weeks into a new season, three weeks of marriage, and three weeks until my next race. Did I say married? haha, I sure did. Emily and I are a couple of lucky kids. Our Guelph wedding day was perfect as was the second reception in Antigonish, thanks for coming everyone!

I've decided to stick with the 10000m for another year. This fall and the winter/spring of 2009 will look similar to last, hope to take another big chunk off my PB. The marathon is definitely in my future, just not immediate. I believer getting faster in the 10000m will only help my eventual marathon debut.

This fall I'm looking forward to getting in a solid base of mileage, tempo, fartleks, and the occasional interval workout. My first race will be the TransCanada 10k CAN road Champs Oct 18 in Ottawa. I raced it last year in less then stellar shape and am looking forward to a much better effort this year.

I know I've said this before but I'm going to try updating my blog more frequently starting.....now!

10000m

2008-08-17T15:19:00.005-04:00

First off thanks to EVERYONE for your AMAZING support! Haven't been that good at responding but I loved hearing from you all.

As for how the race went, it was both awesome and terrible. My spirits were high heading in with great training under my belt and confidence I could run a personal best. The first half I felt better then I ever dare dream. Then for whatever reason a slight injection of pace within my pack at 5k put me in a zone I couldn't handle. Once the pack left me it was like an elephant jumped on my back and down hill it went.

Running poorly on such a huge stage sucks no way around it. I've got two choices now I figure, take this experience and learn from it to become a better runner or not. You'll have to keep following my running to see which it is.

Beijing Again

2008-08-13T21:28:00.002-04:00

Arrived back in Beijing yesterday from our training camp in Singapore, four days out from competing. The camp was a valuable experience. The weather was hot and humid, great for acclimating to the conditions here in Beijing. We trained at a very scenic track, at times you could even hear monkeys in the forest beside. I did two track w/o and two tempo/fartlek w/o there all going very well. My second track session was Tuesday, last full day in town. It was my last workout before the 10000m. It's now all about resting up and feeling good!

Beijing/Singapore

2008-08-06T03:20:00.008-04:00

Since posting last I've logged a few airmiles. My journey began a week ago Friday by saying farewell to Leuven and it's great trails. A short 20min train ride to Brussels airport and I was en-route to Beijing. After two flights and about 24h of travel later I was in the Olympic Village having supper in the gigantic cafeteria the size of a football field.

I spent two day in the Olympic Village getting situated and taking care of details like uniform fitting. On Monday it was off to Singapore for a training camp with the rest of my athletic teammates. We stay until four days out from competing then travel back to Beijing. It's nice to have experienced all the hoopla of the games already. Now when I go back the competition can be front and center.

Friday night we attended a nice function put on my the Singapore Sports Council. There were lots of Canadians who now work in Singapore, great to see them out supporting us.

My first session was yesterday. Because there was no training sessions in the afternoon due to our dinner I did it in the am. Weighed myself before leaving for the track and again four hours later after cold tubing. During that time I drank 2L of water and was still 3 lbs lighter. Figure if I hadn't drank anything I would have lost 7.5 lbs. Suffice it to say it was very HOT & MUGGY! Being properly hydrated going in was a must to have a good workout in that stuff. Felt very good during and after hitting all my splits for the 6k of work. It was helpful getting in that session when I did. Beijing may be just as hot but won't have the sun beating down as I don't compete until 10:45pm.

Speed Work

2008-07-26T19:39:00.008-04:00

Post race crepes

So I raced a 3000m tonight in Oordegem, Belgium. The result wasn't a PB like I expected but in terms of what I needed 7:58 did the trick, especially the way I ran it.

Judging from the start list didn't appear to be that deep or overly fast up front. There were a couple pace makers going at 7:50 pace. I thought it'd be a good chance to turn off the brain, stick my nose in there and see how that pace felt. The race turned out to be MUCH stronger then I expected.

I found myself battling for position upfront from the get go wanting to be close to the pacers. My splits for the mile went something like 61,64,63,61, so I was told for I can't remember looking at any splits until 2k. By the time I reached a mile the three front runners were pulling away handily with me trying in vain to get back onto their heels. By the time I finally realize they were running REALLY fast and never coming back to me a significant amount of lactic snuck it's way into my legs. Oh and I was in no mans land for good measure.

The last kilometer was NOT FUN! Guys flew by like I was standing still. In the end though I was working on a slim margin for error with big mileage and an awesome 40min(total) tempo session Wednesday still in my legs. I'll take with me the memory of being aggressive and the benefit of a good speed work session.

Feeling like I'm in 10000m PB shape and can't wait for Aug 17th, Beijing here I come!!!

3000m Oordegem
1 Kipropchepkok Vincent KEN 7:42.76
2 Rotich Lucas KEN 7:44.07
3 Biwott YUSUF KEN 7:46.15
4 Tasama Faisa Dame* RFCL 7:51.58
5 Van Hoof Willem ROBA 7:53.13
6 Iwamizu Yoshitaka JAP 7:55.90
7 Bruce Ben USA 7:56.86
8 Bollen Frank ATLA 7:57.42
9 Gillis Eric CAN 7:58.91
10 Boorsma Kyle CAN 7:59.7

Good Advice

2008-07-22T16:24:00.005-04:00

For some time now I envisioned running a big PB in Huesden. I brought down my mileage from 100mins/day to 80 the past 10 days or so and mentally dialed in to July 20^th. With the way it panned out, me feeling great in the race but not in the proper section, my thoughts quickly turned to changing up the plan and racing again (3000m) in three days. This would mean putting off a 2h long run and change the dynamics of what these races are supposed to accomplish, which is to keep me sharp for a 10000m Aug 17^th.

With some prudent guidance from Dave we made, what I feel is the best decision, which is to stick to the plan. I have faith in the training scheme that Dave laid out and strongly believe it’ll get me to where I want to be in time for Beijing. I had my best long run of the year Monday and am looking forward to a long tempo session Wednesday. The 3000m is still ago this weekend as in the original plan. With basing my PB to be a little soft I’ll still be shooting for a new one but just not as fast had I raced Brasschaat three days after Heusden, the mini peak is over.

Huesden 5000m

2008-07-20T20:14:00.007-04:00

Oh Heusden why can't we just get along.. Where do I start... well first off Reid is right. I knew getting in to the B section was not a slam dunk. I was rollin the dice on getting in with my 10000m SB, no luck on that one! For the fourth straight year my name was absent from the elusive B section entries when released the night before. There was still hope tho, as in two of the three previous years I was able to get in the day of and both times ran a PB. Per usual I show up 8 hours prior to race time hoping for one last bit of magic. On this occasion tho... it was not to be, C section or nothing.

As for the race I felt awesome. Heard on the line one pacer was going 2k at 65 pace and then another would take over to 3k. Hearing this, my spirits were lifted. They didn't end up hitting those splits as we were 4 sec slow at 2k but I thought I'd give the benefit of the doubt to the second pacer and let him get us back on track. One 66 sec lap later I had enough and took the lead. I was able to get the pace going a bit. Splitting 3k in 8:14 I knew I had my work cut out for me to PB, so I set to work. Ended up just missing it by a tenth, 13:36.88 oh and got passed on the home stretch, didn't hear him coming. I should have done a patented T.Milne shoulder check to see if anyone was back there.

So ya in the end I was really happy with how good it felt tonight. My plan, if I were to have gotten in the faster section was sub 13:30. I'm now confident it would have happened. Wish I could have had the chance to lay it all out there in the B but that's life, and on I go. I'll take from this experience the confidence I didn't pack it in and went out there and raced well.

1	746	KACK OSKAR	SWE	13:36.21
2	733	GILLIS ERIC	CAN	13:36.88
3	713	BUTTER MICHEL	NED	13:37.60
4	759	MAKABE TSUYOSHI	JPN	13:40.04
5	790	TAKAI KAZUHARSU	JPN	13:40.10
6	754	LAURET MARTIN	NED	13:42.24
7	743	IWAI YUUKI	JPN	13:46.14
8	354	YAMADA HIROYUKI	JPN	13:48.71
9	546	BRUCE BEN	USA	13:48.77
10	708	BOLDON BLAKE	USA	13:50.18

Video of the race http://track.flocasts.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234056/70283

10000m Aug 17!!!

2008-07-16T02:36:00.000-04:00

The wait is over, I’m going to Beijing! Thanks for the kind words of encouragement folks, nice to hear from you all. It’s a great honor to be added to the names already selected to compete in Athletics for Canada, thank you AC! And a big thanks goes out to the Speed River family, what a team! I’m lucky to have such great support from all of you, Emily and I couldn’t thank you enough!

I’m in Belgium now preparing for a 5000m this Sunday in Heusden. I feel ready to run well and have been sticking to my original training scheme Dave a I laid out some months back. Onward and upwards I go...

Wait and See....Move On......

2008-07-09T11:02:00.004-04:00

As most of you know I was not selected to compete in Beijing. Dave (coach) and I believe we had a good case for appeal so that's what we did, thanks guys for the hard work! We are satisfied with the process AC has in place and will except both possible outcomes.

The next few days will be tough and am looking forward to moving on either way. If the decision is not in my favor please don't feel sorry for me but wish me good luck in Europe and beyond.

Thanks for the amazing support everyone!

London 1500m

2008-06-26T13:50:00.005-04:00

Raced a 1500m last night in London. A hard effort in unfamiliar territory was what I sought, and got in windy conditions not suitable for fast times. I'm confident after how I felt last night a new 15 PB is within my grasp July 11 in Halifax.

Open Men 1500m

1 Eric Gillis 80 SPEED RIVER 3:49.76

2 Cleve Thorson 81 SPEED RIVER 3:51.13

3 Andrew Coates U OF WINDSOR 3:51.25

4 J. P. Malette WINDSOR LEGI 3:51.42

5 Josh Roundell 86 SPEED RIVER 3:51.66

6 Lee McCarron SPEED RIVER 3:55.50

In other news Paul Gains wrote an article that can be found on the CBC-Athletics Site, check it out Eric Gillis: rising star

Milne - 3:36.00

2008-06-22T14:13:00.005-04:00

June 21 at the Harry Jerome Classic in Vancouver my training partner Taylor Milne took his PB down 3.5 sec running 3:36.00 for the 1500m, under Canada's Olympic A+ standard!!

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/athletics/story/2008/06/21/athletics-harryjerome.html

http://www.letsrun.com/2008/milne-0622.php

http://tnfnorth.proboards70.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=3862&page=1

Congrats Milne!

Onward & Upwards

2008-06-19T14:36:00.000-04:00

Since nationals in Toronto I've been getting in some excellent training. With a few weeks between races now it's been back to my bread and butter, long temp and fartlek sessions. Last week included two fartlek workouts totaling 50 minutes, one track session of k repeats, and 160k of running. It was also my second week in 2008 doing three full workouts. The normal routine has been two longer w/o with a third short turnover session, usually a few quick 400s. So far I'm handling the extra work great.

As you can tell my training is geared towards racing longer distances but you may have also noticed I have a couple 15's planned. My PB is 3:45 from a few years back and the idea is to have some fun and see if I can break it without backing off on training much. I have no clue where my 15 fitness is?!?...guess we'll find out next Wednesday.

It's a big weekend of racing for the River with a large crew in Ottawa at the OTFA Champs and Taylor Milne out on the west coast going for a fast 1500m in the Harry Jerome Saturday. GOOD LUCK to all!!

10000m Champs

2008-06-05T19:33:00.001-04:00

A lot has happened since my last post after Payton Jordon. I tried getting into a 10000m race in Europe. When that didn’t pan out I set my sights on racing the MDS Ottawa 10k placing 7^th.It was a competitive field of savvy road racers. Three days before the race I jumped into a workout with some speedy 1500m guys in our group, what shock to the system that was! For the most part workouts have been going well. Its tougher going it solo which has been the norm since my training partner Reid Coolsaet suffered an injury our last week in Flagstaff. He’s been cross training like a feen and hopefully will be back running like he wants to be soon.

National 10,000m Champs were last night and the goal was to win. It would be the final piece needed to meet Athletics Canada ‘rising star’ criteria. I was fortunate to achieve this goal and put myself in a position to potentially represent Canada in Beijing. The team will officially be announced July 7^th following the Canadian Olympic trials in Windsor July 4-6. Keep you’re fingers cross my name will be on the list!

GOT IT!

2008-05-05T13:28:00.000-04:00

Came here to Stanford with one goal, run under 28:10, Olympic B standard. It's a thought that ran through my head at least once ever 60 seconds from Mt Sac on. Now that it's accomplished I feel a sense of relief and, damn that was close!

The first 5k of the race was a breeze. I split 14:00 feeling like a million bucks. Everybody was still together at this point, the whole field strung out like a train with myself running off peoples shoulders on the outer half of lane one. My aim was to split between 14:00-14:05 and work the second half, maybe negative split if feeling good. Just as I was marveling at how perfect everything was going the leaders decided they'd like to negative too, only when they picked it up the pace went from 67's to 66's. A significant change for a guy who averaged just under 68 two weeks earlier in running a 25 sec PB.

The result of this pace increase formed two options, go with and maybe run really fast but risk blowing up or stick with the established pace. Remembering my one and only goal of this race I decide not to go. My finishing time of 28:07 attests to the fact it was the right decision. What made the last 4k particularly challenging though was that guys seem to either go with the faster pace or drop off mine. 6-9k of the race was lonely territory for me. This is where I used up that five second buffer from my 5k split. Coming into the last lap I needed a 68 to break standard. Seemed like an easy enough task only the lap previous was a 69! Made for a nail bitter finish as Emily, Dave and the guys can speak to. Finished in a 64.7, 2.8 seconds under B standard.

Watch the race here

RecordTiming.com - Contractor License
     Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational - 5/4/2008   
       Stanford University --Stanford, California     

Event 21  Men 10000 Meter Run Kim McDonald
================================================================
  D1 Reg: R 29:30.00                                  
D 1 Auto: A 28:45.00                                  
Name                    Year School                  Finals
================================================================
Finals                                                    
1 Craig Mottram                Melbourne Tr          27:34.48A
2 Guenther Weidlinger          Austria               27:36.46A
3 Josphat Boit                 adidas                27:40.64A
4 Takayuki Matsumiya           Konica-Minolta        27:41.75A
5 Mo Farah                     adidas                27:44.54A
6 Juan Carlos Romero           Unattached            27:47.46A
7 Scott Bauhs                  Chico State           27:48.06A
8 Fasil Bizuneh                New Balance           27:50.48A
9 Satoshi Irifune              Kanebo                27:56.33A
10 Jan Fitschen                 Nike                  28:02.55A
11 Alejandro Suarez             Unattached            28:06.43A
12 Eric Gillis                  Speed River           28:07.19A
13 Collis Birmingham            Melbourne Tr          28:08.23A
14 Yuuki Nakamura               Kanebo                28:30.99A
15 Rod Koborsi                  Reebok                28:31.37A
16 John Moore                   Portland              28:32.31A
17 Pieter Desmet                Golazo Sports         28:33.44A
18 Japtheth Ngo'joy             Utep                  28:33.68A
19 Edwardo Torres               Reebok                28:33.89A
20 Suehiro Ishikawa             Honda Motors Sayama   28:34.31A

Mt. SAC 10000m and a PB

2008-04-19T08:39:00.000-04:00

5:20 am the morning after racing 10000m late last night. I usually don’t sleep much after a night race. It’s a combo of the race, and caffeine which I only have before big meets.

The race went really well. I ran a 25 seconds PB of 28:16, 4^th place. It was a fun race to be in. The weather was perfect, a nice pack formed up front, and I even felt good enough to do some leading. I did get a little worried however that I was going to have to lead the majority but thankfully Juan Romero of Mexico was feeling up to the task and took over again just after half. It seems like Romero or I were in the lead for most the race, more him then I.

We had a nice negative split, something like 14:14/14:02 for me. A lot of that came off the last couple laps when the pace really picked up. Having the three pull away from me down the back stretch didn’t feel great but when I heard what the winner closed in, 58 sec last lap, I was more ok with my finish. It’s still something I’ll have to work on though.

Next race on tap is a big one, another 10000m, this time in Stanford May 4th. My time should now be good enough to get me in. I’ll have an opportunity to go for sub 28:10 which is Canada’s Olympic B standard. The standard is far from a sure ticket to Beijing but for me it’s something on the horizon to shoot for. Now back to Guelph for a couple good a weeks of training.

Watch the race here Mt Sac 10000m

Mt. San Antonio Community College
          Mt. SAC Relays - 4/17/2008 to 4/20/2008          
         "Where the world's best athletes compete"         
             Hilmer Lodger Stadium-Walnut, CA              

Event 384  Men 10000 Meter Run Invitational
===============================================================
  Name                    Year Team                    Finals
===============================================================
Finals                                                       
1 Rono, Aron                   Azusa Pacific         28:13.75
2 Romero, Ju�n                 Athletics Mexico      28:14.65
3 Safronov, Dimitry            Unattached            28:15.11
4 Gillis, Eric                 Canada                28:16.98
5 Downin, Matt                 New Balance           28:19.48
6 Medigovich, Brian            Adams State           29:05.55
7 Mutanya, Obed                Elite Athletes N      29:07.52
8 Glaab, Joshua                Unattached            29:57.36
9 Scribner, Robert             Mississippi St.       29:59.33
10 Hine, Zachhary               Cornell               30:33.35

Watch my race LIVE

2008-04-18T17:16:00.000-04:00

10000m, 10:50pm PT

www.flotrack.org

Personal best heading in 28:42

Last week in Flag

2008-04-09T17:02:00.000-04:00

One week to go. So far the trip has been everything I wanted and more. Adjusted well to the altitude, feeling comfortable in workouts, tons of trails, met some interesting people, weather’s been awesome (aside from the wind), and living arrangements, well what can I say we have our own house.

We were on the track yesterday for a windy and wild session. Like I’ve mentioned it’s almost always windy here but yesterday was something else. We had planned to work in gear changes but dropped them after one rep. A 30 mile an hour head wind on the home stretch was enough change in pace. With the wind, altitude combo we didn’t come out feeling overly speedy but were pleased to get it in.

One interesting thing about the climate here is that it can be well above zero and still snow, happens to be doing it right now. In the three weeks we’ve been here it’s only sprinkled rain a few minutes, sunny the rest of the time. Locals say July and August are the times to expect rain, monsoons actually. You can see the evidence of flash flooding on runs.

Windy eh!

2008-03-31T23:32:00.000-04:00

They said it would be windy up here and damn is it ever! It doesn't have much of an effect on our training though. We're only on the track a couple times and wind is one of those things you can't control so it's not worth fretting about.

The track workout went very well on Friday. It was at the end of a 166km week which has been about average this winter. I'll hit that kind of mileage in 11 or 12 runs, doubling usually 5 days a week, something like 30 & 70min. It'll be only turnover on the track this week, then another full session the week after. Plan to spike up for the 6k of work, toughen them calves up. I want to be used to them by the second 10000m in Stanford. It'll be the first time I've worn spikes in a race that long on the track.

We've got a couple longer threshold workouts on the go this week. Our coach Dave Scott-Thomas is scheduled to spend a few days here later this week. It'll be good for us to have him out here to catch a workout and get set up for the next few weeks of training and racing.

ps

This week Emily and I would like to say our thoughts and prayers are with a former teammate and her boyfriend as they recover.

Spring!

2008-03-25T00:14:00.000-04:00

Spring has come to Flagstaff treating us with double digit temperatures and bright sunny skies. You can still find snow patches on some trails and at higher elevations but for the most part they're clear. It's nice to be back on trails after a long winter of asphalt streets.

Fridays workout in Buffalo park went very well. The park has a two mile loop with 1/4 mile makers. Reid Coolsaet, and fellow Canadian Steve Osaduik (marathoner) did a measured fartlek totaling seven miles. I made sure to run controlled from the start. Never being at altitude before, along with a few easy days to start and I can see how people may think nothing of it. With some sound advice from Reid who come up for the first time last year I got through the workout feeling good and finishing strong.

So far the most noticable effects of altitude is the need for more sleep, lovin nap time, and how some bagged foods look as though extra air was pumped in, like chips.

Back to the trails for a tempo session on Tuesday and then track w/o Friday. We're going to stay up here for both of them, in fact we'll probably do all our workouts here in Flag. Some travel down to Sedona for the lower elevation but with no car and there only being a dirt track there we're content to stay put.

7000ft

2008-03-18T17:32:00.000-04:00

Left Guelph in the wee hours Sunday morning for my first training stint at altitude. Flew into Phoenix arriving just after noon. Reid booked a one way rental to Flagstaff, ~2h drive. The cactus forests just outside Phoenix were a cool sight.

Weather forecast said snow for Flag Sunday so we planned a run stop in Sedona (4500ft), and to check out the track that guys travel down to for lower altitude workouts. To our surprise it was snowing there too. Only 45minuts from cactus forests we drive into a healthy snow fall. Got in a slow run, both feeling tired from travel and the last few days of training.

The remaining 50min drive had the most amazing views I've ever witnessed. It was truly jaw dropping driving on roads cut into the side of massive slopes. Finally arriving in town we went straight to check out our rented house. Found it ok and were pleasantly surprised with the size and look of the place.

So far I can't tell if my legs are feeling heavy because they're not used to running on soft trails or the 7000ft factor. Never the less I've already started coming around after three days and a couple good nights rest. Tomorrow morning we're taking in the "bagel run". It's simply a place folks meet to go running every Wednesday morning and everyone grabs a bagel at the local shop afterwards.

First workout Friday, sure I'll notice the altitude then!

Getting Fit

2008-03-04T18:35:00.001-05:00

It's been a long winter here in Guelph. People have mentioned it's the worst in recent memory. Today is March 4 and the forecast calls for another 15 cm tonight, yuck! Doesn't look like it'll be leaving us anytime soon, only one day in the next 14 is supposed to get above zero.

I'm looking forward to getting out of town. My training partner, Reid Coolsaet and I are heading to Flagstaff, Arizona for a stint at altitude. The city's at 7000ft which will hopefully produce a beneficial training effect by simply living and running at that height.

My racing plans for the spring are, a 10000m at Mount Sac April 18. I'll travel there straight from Flag. Goal is to run 28:30 or faster which should insure me a spot on the line at the always fast Paton Jordon, Stanford May 4. Between those races I'll come back to Guelph and train.

Feeling great these days. Trainings been going better then ever despite the nasty weather. I've been doing a lot of long workouts getting up to 45mins of work. Only ran once on the treadmill this winter and it was PB, 2h!! That was my low point, -25 outside and windy as ol' heck. Spring can't come soon enough!

BU Terrier 3000m

2008-01-29T12:53:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone it's been a while so I'll get right to things.

Raced this past weekend at the Terrier Invitational in Boston. I'm pleased with how it went, 5th in 7:57.66 for a new personal best by 2 sec indoors and 1 sec out. My training partner Reid Coolsaet was 2nd in 7:53.

The time's good but what I'm most encouraged about is how it was achieved, only 3200m of work on the track in 2008 and one 1200m workout late Dec. Our focus has been on strength workouts the past few months with the amount of work ranging from 25 up to 50 minutes per session, lately more towards the longer end.

What the next couple months will consist of is a long build up to a couple 10000m races in California mid April and early May. As part of that build up phase I hope to incorporate four weeks at altitude in Flagstaff, Arizona. I've never been to altitude but with the right approach I believe it'll work in my favor. I'll be going there with my training partner Reid Coolsaet who spent a month up there last year.

I'll try and keep you all informed on how training's going more often.

Chow for now.

Watch the race here http://www.flocasts.org/flotrack/coverage.php?c=163&id=8077

Results: Men 3000 Meter Run
1 Quigley, Sean La Salle 7:52.47
2 Coolsaet, Reid Speed River Tfc 7:53.51
3 Kasagule, Francis Lamar 7:56.10
4 King, Kyle 7:56.11
5 Gillis, Eric Speed River Tfc 7:57.66
6 Miller, Mark B.A.A. 8:07.82
7 Norton, Harry Dartmouth 8:10.91
8 Alfano, David La Salle 8:11.15
9 Spooner, Chris Duke 8:11.48
10 Lavallee, Roland New Balance Bost 8:11.68

CANADIAN XC CHAMPS

2007-12-03T13:19:00.000-05:00

Wow what a great weekend! Hosting was a treat and a ton of work for a lot of people, thanks everyone! I wanted to win bad and to be that close is bitter sweet. I made a move at the bottom of the fishing hill but Reid hung tight and responded with an even better surge half way up. Figured my only chance then was to give it all I had at the top. Eyes narrowing to the finishing tap, crowd wizing by, a quick calculation confirmed the finish was closer then I imagined and then it was over. Silver is better then I've every done at Nationals and with it being back in Guelph next year I'll have another chance at gold then.

Heusden 5000m

2007-07-29T04:56:00.000-04:00

Heusden is known for having deep 5000m races year in and year out, this year being no exception. There's an A & B elite section and a whole slue of National heats. For myself it's as good a chance to run fast as there is. When the heats came out the day before I was in the first National section, was hoping for the B. Luckily I was able to get in the B with help from a couple friends. Proved to be the right place for me. I finished 13th and ran a new PB 13:36.78, down from 13:40.96. It feels great to finally be in the 13:30's.

Split 3k in 8:10, same as Brasschaat but right then I knew 30 mid was possible. Felt stronger with five laps to go then I did a week earlier and was catching on a pack of guys. I caught up to them a short time after, passing one then another, until by 4k I was at the front. Led a lap, then a couple guys passed me back and I managed to hang with them to the finish closing pretty hard in 61-2 ish, best last 400m ever.

Outstanding run by my training partner Reid Coolsaet, 13:21.53, heart breaking too though as he only missed IAAF A standard by .03 of a second!!

Another of my training partners, Taylor Milne was in the 1500m finishing in 3:43.3, a solid run.

Watch my race here http://www.flocasts.com/flotrack/coverage.php?c=74&id=4535

1	11	406	DOBSON IAN	USA	13:18.87
2	10	428	RILEY JONATHAN	USA	13:19.92
3	3	702	YUICHIRO UENO	JPN	13:21.49
4	14	405	COOLSAET REID	CAN	13:21.53
5	12	414	MORRISSON PAUL	CAN	13:22.39
6	7	408	GRAHAM SEAN	USA	13:23.50
7	32	780	SJOQVIST ERIK	SWE	13:25.37
8	1	401	BAIRU SIMON	CAN	13:25.91
9	31	411	KIPROTICH STEVEN	UGA	13:27.40
10	23	425	DAME TASAMA FAYISA	ETH	13:33.27
11	18	402	BANDI PHILIP	SUI	13:35.26
12	2	700	CARLSON IAN	USA	13:35.86
13	34	735	GILLES ERIC	CAN	13:36.78
14	27	732	GAHUNGU VITAL	BDI	13:38.19
15	13	731	GABRIELSON MATT	USA	13:38.96
16	21	426	FAYS GUY	BEL	13:41.59
17	9	410	KING KYLE	USA	13:41.71

Leuven

2007-07-26T13:46:00.000-04:00

Leuven is my base camp here in Europe. It's a great little city in the south east of Belgium. Reid Coolsaet (training partner) and I are in dorms at the University of Leuven just on the outskirts of town. It's an ideal place to train, with a track on campus and trails shooting out to a larger park close by. We're not alone here, far from it. There's upwards of 50 US, New Zealand, and Canadian athletes all scattered in residences across the campus. So many in fact, race directors provide a lage bus to transport us all to meets.

My routine here is get up late morning, eat, run, walk to GB (local supermarket) pick up something for supper, run/workout/watch ppl workout, make dinner or walk 20min into town to one of the countless patio restaurant, then back to the laptops.

The highlight so far had to be seeing Allan Webb run 3:46.91 to break the American mile record! It could be another 20 some years before it's broken again, so to see it in person was something.

There's a workout up on flotrack.com Reid, Paul, and I did on Monday, can find it here http://www.flocasts.com/flotrack/speakers.php?sid=330&vid=4506
My last race in Brasschaat is somewhere there too, catch only glimpses of me.

5000m Brasschaat

2007-07-21T18:13:00.000-04:00

I ran a new personal best tonight by one second over 5000m 13:40.96, not a lot but it's a step in the right direction (if they posted the same results they had after the race my time of 13:36 is wrong).

Split 3k in 8:10-11. Ran a few 66's and two 67's. Closed ok in 63. This race has given me a lot of motivation to get under that 13:40 mark next weekend in Huesden!